When Alley started her senior year at Upper East High in the South Hills area, it was supposed to be the usual drag of hanging out with people who spent more on one outfit than Alley did on her entire wardrobe. That was until Kirsten, a girl in their clique, suddenly goes missing and the only people who seem to care are her friends. All evidence leads to the new comer Shane, a cocky and self-pretentious person in Alley’s opinion, but the police seem uninterested so she and the rest of the girls start a little investigation of their own. But they are nowhere closer to finding Kirsten than when they started and now they had the police’s attention; just not in the way they expected. The girls have to start over and discover that maybe it wasn’t an outsider who took Kirsten, but someone within their own clique who has something to hide; a secret that just might have gotten Kirsten killed.

About the authors:

Although we moved down to North Carolina several years ago, we’re originally from the Pittsburgh area. (That’s why a lot of our characters either live in the Burgh or reference our hometown football team, The Pittsburgh Steelers.) And yes, we even have the Southern accents to show for it now. Although Megan’s is considerable thicker, Leah still can’t understand the locals.

We are known as ‘the sisters’ among our neighborhood; when actually we’re probably really known as ‘the sisters with the Yorkies’. Our pups, Skippy Jon Jones and Captain Jack Sparrow, were given long names to compensate for their small size but not their large personalities.

If Leah’s not glued to her electronic devices, AKA her Kindle Fire and various laptops, you can find her training ‘the attack dogs’, running on the treadmill while conceiving the next great book idea with the Dave Matthews Band, Muse, Florence and the Machine, The Lumineers, and Pink (just to name a few) blaring out of her earphones.

If Megan’s not glued to her electronic devices AKA her iPad and Nook Color, you can find her teaching fourth graders, swimming marathon style at the pool, or cuddling with ‘the attack dogs’ as she watches Duck Dynasty, Gold Rush, Scandal, Person of Interest, Morning Joe, etc.

Leah graduated from Edinboro University with a BA in Art Education. Megan received her teaching degree from Edinboro University and Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Technology from Grand Canyon University.

My review:

“Honestly, I
didn’t know what we were doing here as I jerked the jeep into the first
available space next to the stadium. What did they expect to find at a soccer
game; Kirsten tied up in the locker room?” pg. 176

Uninvited by Leah Spiegel and Meg Summers is the
first of a trilogy. In this book, the protagonist Alley, her best friend Val
and her friends Kayla and Libby search for their missing friend Kirsten. First
suspect? Shane. The mysterious new student who Libby saw having a mysterious
conversation with Kirsten. The new kid the police just do not both to consider
as a suspect at all.

The antics these
four amateur investigators encounter on their search for their friend’s
whereabouts are wonderful. At first, I did not like how Alley was so cynical
that she viewed her friends as Val friends and her own. But then, I realize she
was feeing like she did not belong, a feeling I sometimes felt as a teenager.
And as the book strolled along, Alley never was close to Kayla or Libby, but
they did have a good time.

I liked how all four
were fantastic people. Val is a cheerful klutz who is smart and tenacious.
Libby is a bit insecure in regards to her relationship with her boyfriend and
reluctant to independently search for Kristen kidnapper. Kayla is funny and
caring as she encourages Libby to help with the search. Alley may be
fashionably challenged and cynical at times, but she stays true to finding the
truth as she does anything for a girl she found unlikeable. All four of them
are brave.

Shane. Boy, he was clever. I give him lots of love.

Shane and
Alley’s interactions were delightful making their “not-a-romance-yet” the best
relationship in the book. I love how Shane’s feelings toward Alley transformed
from amused to annoyed to spiteful to caring to all those feelings at the same
time. And how Alley’s feelings towards Shane were annoyed to annoyed to
spiteful to liking to crushing all these feelings at the same time.

However, what
causes this book to rock is the humorous exchanges. The writers have a knack on
writing comedic lines. I tried to eat some raspberries while reading and ended
up giving up on ever eating (till the book was over). I just could not stop
laughing. What type of laughter did I own? The type where I laughed so hard it
hurts. The humor reigns in banter that is silly and loveable.

A Humorous Clip:

“Ah,” he added
happily from somewhere in the living room, probably on the leather couch if I
had to guess. “This is cozy,” he said, causing me to narrow my eyes
suspiciously. Either he was nuts and liked to talk to himself, or he was
enjoying himself way, way too much.

“I think I’ll
just watch some baseball. Yep.” He took a sip of his drink. “Sounds like an
plan.” pg 136

I
had no trouble discovering why the police ignored the Shane posibility. They
mystery to who took Kirsten had the surprising results. I mean I did suspect the
culprit, but I also suspect many other characters. I am glad the mystery
diverges from the typical murder mystery.

This
book is wonderful. A delightful experience I relived yesterday. Yes, this is a
rare mystery that can be re-read because the resolution is not what caused me
to love this book. Instead it was the humor, the writing and the characters.

I
am eager to see what Alley, Val, Kayla, Libby and Shane do next in the second
two books of the trilogy.

To
conclude is a terrific exchange between Alley and my favorite boisterous cop.

“I’m
doing surveillance,” he cleared his throat and explained.

“Of
my house?” I tilted my head a fraction as if to say, why?

“No.”
He pointed four houses down. “Of that house.”

Turning
to look at a brick house with white shutters, I asked, “Mrs. Ollis’s house?”

“Yep.”

“The
kindergarten teacher?”

“No...umm,”
he continued, “the next house down.”

“Mr.
Rodgers, the preacher?” “

No,”
he said with an edge. “The next one.”

“Mrs.
Herman, the elderly lady?”

“What
do you live on, freaking fairy lane?” he grumbled and then typed something on
his laptop nearby. “Sorry, I mean the next house.”

“Mr. Nadler, the firefighter?”

“Yep, Mr. Nadler.” He suddenly
grinned.

Crossing
my arms over my chest, I asked, “And why would you be watching his house?”

“Just
to make sure little boys aren’t going in and out,” he said with a wink.

Haha! I love that last snippet. I can tell I'll enjoy the humour in this book. I've been craving something really funny for a while, and think I'll have to add this one to my list. :) Great review, Rachel!

It's not often that we find four such strong characters in what is essentially a humorous novel. I also love that Alley and Shane's non-relationship stayed in the almost-there territory, it was probably even more cute and definitely more believable that way. Anyway, this isn't my usual kind of read, but it seems so adorable, I'd love to give it a chance.Lovely review, Rachel!

I am always up to read something that his humorous. It seems there are never enough books out there to make me laugh. This one just looks like a fun escape read that will leave me smiling. Thanks for sharing!

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About Me

Hi, My name is Rachel and I am an avid book reader. I enjoy reading any genre. I mostly read Young Adult (YA) books, but I also enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries. My favorite genres include paranormal, mysteries, realistic fiction and historical fiction. I hope you enjoy reading my blog!